Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain of the Garhwal Rifles

The focus has shifted right back to Jammu and Kashmir with the BJP pulling out of the alliance. So far no party has come forward to stake a claim to form the government and the NC has made it clear that it did not have the mandate.

This ideally would mean that President's rule would be in place. The big question is who will be the Governor of the state in the existing scenario. The current Governor in Jammu and Kashmir is Narinder Nath Vohra. His term comes to an end on June 25, but until a new Governor is appointed, his term would be extended.

Sources say that the Government is in favour of appointing a person from an Army background as the next Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The name that is on top is that of Syed Ata Hasnain. The other name doing the rounds is that of G D Bakshi.

Sources say that the favourite to get the post of Governor is Syed Ata Hasnain. He has very good knowledge of Kashmir and has handled the crisis back in 2010 well, which earned him praises.

Who is Syed Ata Hasnain:

Syed Ata Hasnain was commissioned into the 4th Battalion, The Garhwal Rifles, from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. As a Brigadier, he served in Jammu and Kashmir as Commander, 12 Infantry Brigade, on the Line of Control, near the town of Uri.

He later commanded 19 Infantry Division in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, as a Major General, serving under the overall direction of XV Corps. As a Lieutenant General, Hasnain has been posted as General Officer Commanding (GOC), XXI Corps, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

In October 2010, he returned to the XV Corpos in Kashmir as the GOC. He held several meetings to redress grievances and concerns of commons citizens, and to bring the Army closer to them.

He conceived and operationalised the "Hearts Doctrine" which focused on people as the centre of gravity in Kashmir. His contribution towards improving the security scenario in Kashmir was the balance he brought between the employment of hard power in counter infiltration and counter terrorist operations and military soft power.

Who is G D Bakshi:


Major General Gagandeep Bakshi was born in Jammu. He is from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. A veteran of many skirmishes on the Line of Control and of counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for commanding a battalion in operations in Kargil.

Bakshi is a combat veteran of many skirmishes on the LC and Counter-Terrorist operations in J&K and Punjab. He commanded his battalion in active operations in Kargil and was awarded the Vishist Seva Medal. Later he commanded a brigade in Counter-Terrorist operations in the very rugged mountains of Kishtwar and was awarded the Sena Medal for his distinguished services.

He subsequently commanded the reputed Romeo Force during intensive Counter-Terrorist operations in the Rajouri-Punch Districts of J&K in the wake of Operation sarp vinash and succeeded in pacifying the area. He has served two tenures at the highly prestigious Directorate General of Military Operations (during Op Pawan and Op Vijay) and was the first BGS (IW) at HQ Northern Command where he dealt with Information Warfare and Psychological Operations, according to an entry in the Wikipedia.